More efficiency and precision for high-density applications and SiPs

With its improved 20-nozzle SIPLACE SpeedStar high-speed placement head, technology leader ASM has managed to raise the machine’s performance by roughly 23 percent to up to 96,000 components per hour while increasing the component spectrum by 37 percent. A single machine covers the three precision classes of 25, 20 and 15 µm @ 3σ, making it possible to operate with component pitches of as little as 50 µm and place 0201m components at full speed. Special functions for thin-die handling deliver significantly higher yields when assembling system-in-package modules or submodules. Advanced packaging, which is one of today’s key technologies in electronics production, blurs the lines between OSATs, IDMs and “classical” yet demanding SMT applications. In times of rising time, cost and efficiency pressures, the production of SiPs and SoCs as well as the processing of dies and flip-chip modules on high-precision SMT platforms is becoming more common every day. Technology leader ASM aims to meet the requirements of these complex application with a new and heavily improved version of the SIPLACE TX micron. “As the world's largest supplier of equipment to the electronics industry, ASM serves the back-end segment for semiconductor production as well as classical SMT factories,” says Alexander Hagenfeldt, Head of Product Marketing at ASM. “The development of the new SIPLACE TX micron was based on decades of experience and the latest technologies from both fields to raise advanced packaging and high-density applications to a new level of productivity. The new SIPLACE TX micron is the fastest and most precise SIPLACE machine that ASM has ever introduced.” High speed with maximum precision Because the new SIPLACE SpeedStar 20-segment high-speed head can now place up to 48,000 components per hour (cph), the new dual-gantry SIPLACE TX micron achieves a placement performance of up to 96,000 cph. This is made possible by the new placement head as well as by another shortening of its travel paths with a more compact feeder control unit (FCU) and Z-axis travel that has been shortened to two millimeters. Depending on installed options, the SIPLACE TX micron achieves placement accuracies of 25, 20 or 15 µm @ 3σ with minimum component distances of only 50 µm. The highest accuracy class is achieved with a new vacuum tool that features an exchangeable magnetic plate for rapid product changeovers. The new 4-mm versions of the Smart Feeder Xi also make pickups of smallest components and dies faster and more accurate. They use the latest micro-tapes, or the bottoms of the blisters are vacuum-leveled to prevent inclined positions of components within the tape. Thin-die handling further improved Since thin dies, flip-chips and the smallest 0201m components require extremely gentle handling, the entire placement process of the SIPLACE TX micron can be individually programmed for each component and placement position. This includes touchless pickup and zero-force placement. And for sensitive thin dies, the vision system features advanced image processing algorithms such as cracked-die inspection and die-chipping detection. That way, components with hairline fractures and lacerated edges are detected and rejected already during the pickup process. A real space saver The new SIPLACE TX micron delivers all this performance in the smallest possible space. Like its predecessor model, it occupies a footprint of only 2.23 by 1.0 meters (approx. 7.3 by 3.3 feet), it is a particularly attractive option for tight cleanroom environments thanks to its DIN EN ISO 14644-1 Class 7 certification. Ready for the integrated smart factory Like all current ASM solutions, the SIPLACE TX micron features a broad range of M2M and networking capabilities. Open and standardized interfaces such as ASM OIB, IPC-HERMES-9852, IPC-CFX and IPC-SMEMA-9851 allow it to be fully integrated into workflows, higher-level MES/ERP systems, traceability solutions, and the integrated smart factory.